When Did My Baby Grow Up?

This past weekend, Benny rode on a two-wheeler (with training wheels) for the first time. After the initial bribery with Popsicles at 10:30 in the morning, Benny got on the bike. Once he got the hang of pedalling forward and not braking all the time, I sat down on the front lawn to let him ride by himself.

As he tentatively rode past me, wobbling a little on his training wheels, I thought "What happened to my baby?" Suddenly, memories that I hadn't thought of in a while came flooding back to me. I was immediately transported back to my hospital room the night that he was born. I just held him and couldn't stop staring. I couldn't believe that he was mine! So tiny, and I little bit freaky with his 10 1/2 fingers.

Then a little older. Benny was standing on the stairs of our new house, his first day home after we moved and then had Sammy. He just stood on the stairs and gave one of his long-winded orations. though it was all in gibberish, he was very passionate.

Then I thought of how excited he was the first night that he go to sleep in his big boy bed. The rule was that there was no jumping on the bed, so he immediately thought of "knee-jumping" as a way around the rules. What a tricky buddy.

But as he rode by a smiled, I wondered how all of those memories could have taken place in what feels like just one month. I'm so proud of both my boys. Benny is such a loving and caring big brother. And Sammy worships the ground Benny walks on. I love to watch them them together. I just wish that time could stand still so that I could savor every moment.